Any owner of an 07' Scion TC knows the check engine light comes on after you've driven your vehicle 5000 miles since the last oil change to tell you that it's time to change your oil. But I've been going off the recommended 3000 mile schedule... Who recommended it? I couldn't say.
But I can say I've never missed an oil change within 50 miles of 3000 once I committed to this schedule. So... It was quite alarming to see that check engine light come on. My first thought was I hadn't been paying attention to my mileage. But it seemed way too early.
I checked the sticker on my windshield, and sure enough I had only run my 'new' oil for amost exactly 2000 miles since my last oil change at Logan's Jiffy Lube. So I checked the owner's manual one more time to make sure the check engine light didn't indicate any other symptoms. This indicator ONLY tells me when I've run my oil for 5000 miles. But surely this could be due to some other environmental issue. So I checked all fluids, and was sure to loosen all fluid caps to ensure there weren't any strange pressure issues. All my fluids were just where they were supposed to be. I immediately took it in for an oil change. The check engine light went away.
I'll do the math for you: 3000 miles since my last real oil change 2000 miles with no oil change = 5000 mile check engine light = jiffy lube charged me for changing my oil but somehow forgot to provide the service. Or perhaps they put the wrong weight of oil in. It's not hard to imagine how a heavier weight would trigger a viscosity sensor early on in the schedule. Either way they didn't provide the proper service. Either way this is detrimental to my $20k investment.
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